Scotland: “A woman who falsely accused her father of rape after undergoing a discredited form of therapy has received an out-of-court settlement.” Katrina Fairlie underwent “recovered memory” therapy in Perth and proceeded to level unfounded allegations of sexual abuse at her father, an elected official. “She later said those claims were completely untrue and a police investigation found there was no evidence of abuse,” but in the mean time the allegations “had ruined her and her family’s lives”. The father sued the National Health Service-run psychiatric hospital but a court dismissed his case on the grounds “after ruling that the trust did not owe a duty of care to Mr Fairlie as a relative of a patient”. Ms. Fairlie was more successful in her claim, netting a reported £20,000, though the NHS admitted no liability. (“Settlement for bogus abuse woman”, BBC, Oct. 20).
UK: False accuser wins settlement
Scotland: “A woman who falsely accused her father of rape after undergoing a discredited form of therapy has received an out-of-court settlement.” Katrina Fairlie underwent “recovered memory” therapy in Perth and proceeded to level unfounded allegations of sexual abuse at her father, an elected official. “She later said those claims were completely untrue and a […]
3 Comments
Does the UK have an equivalent of the Federal Tort Claims Act? Otherwise, how did the plaintiff get around sovereign immunity?
I know a family that went through this. Horrible. Wiped out the father defending against his daughter, many years after the fact.
There oughta be a law: recovered memory doesn’t toll the statute of limitations.
Volunteers wanted:
The Wikipedia entry on Recovered Memory Therapy could use the help of a lawyer or someone with legal knowledge. I’ve put a link to the Fairlie case, but other relevant legal info on that page would be appreciated.